The Magellan International School in Austin

Posted: August 30, 2024

Amazing school. Loving, caring, well balanced yet rigorous IB program. Teaches kids the love of learning and taking actions in life. I cant wait to see what the Magellan kids will do out in the world eventually. Our family has been there for 9 years with 2 kids.

Posted: August 30, 2024

Posted: May 1, 2024

Both our boys have been at Magellan since age 3 through to elementary. We love it. Well run, caring, excellent and diverse community of families.

Posted: May 1, 2024

Posted: November 8, 2023

Our child has gone to Magellna since preschool and is now in 1st grade. The largest positive for Magellan is their commitment to bilingualism and cultural diversity. The largest negative for Magellan is everything else. As previous reviews have indicated, they rely heavily on screen time. As previous reviews have indicated, they care not for the gifted student. They have no disciplinary structure to speak of, in place of accountability or consequences they will have your child take a walk and if that doesn't work, you have to come pick them up. For a school that claims to be about embracing diversity, the complete lack of care, consideration, and resources to students with neurodiversity is a pitch black mark on who they claim to be.

If your child is an average child who seeks to be one of the masses, Magellan will work out just fine. But if your child stands out or doesn't fit or has trouble in any sort of way, be prepared for Magellan to not be there for your child.

Posted: November 8, 2023

Posted: May 19, 2023

My child has been at Magellan for several years, starting in kinder. She came in already knowing Spanish and we were excited not only about continuing with the Spanish, but also the IB program.

Weve had 3 major issues with the school. First, they rely on television pretty heavily. Not learning or interactive media, just straight television. We have always been conscious about her screen time, and it was extremely frustrating to hear about them watching Phineas and Ferb, Pink Panther, and others at school. There is no educational value here. Ive also come to pick her up, always exactly when school lets out, and the whole class is just watching YouTube videos, I know this because they were all sitting through mattress commercials just waiting for the next video to pop up. TV is pervasive throughout Magellan, regardless of grade. Whenever parents have brought this up to the school, weve been ignored and told its not an issue.

Second, if your child is bright, dont expect any extra resources. Weve been told during each parent/teacher conference that our kid is way beyond expectations. She came into kinder already reading chapter books in Spanish and English, doing very well in math etc., but we have been given little to no extra work to challenge her. I actually think because the school is so focused on expansion that theyre letting in a lot more kids who dont know Spanish. This leads to the teachers having to spend extra time with those just learning and the other kids getting less time.

Lastly, dont expect them to do much about students with major behavioral issues. They just dont have the resources. There is one child who has been violent over the course of a couple years with many students (choking, punching, kicking, verbal threats), who is still allowed to come to school. Its scary and frustrating.

Theyre spending all of this money to move to a new campus, but I wish they would use the money to improve the academic quality and have better behavioral supports.

Posted: January 8, 2023

We've been attending Magellan for the past three years and we couldn't be happier. The school does a few things really well. First, the Head of School Scott Hibbard, we have the utmost confidence in him and appreciate his style of open communication and decisiveness as we've navigated a really challenging time. Second, is the diversity of the community. For us, the appeal of an IB school is the ability for our children to grow into global citizens, and the school reflects that. There is really a sense of community and many parents spend their time and effort to be involved. Obviously like all social situations, you get what you put in, but for us the community is important. Finally, the curriculum and quality of education. As another review mentioned, they make a point to weave everything together in a unit of inquiry. This makes the difference between abstract concepts or real-world examples that are put into practice logically. Everyone knows their kids best but for us, MIS is the perfect fit.

Posted: January 8, 2023

Posted: November 11, 2019

It's an ambitious shool that is a great fit for the very left-brained, bookish kids. An academic talented child who likes to follow the rules and is relatively calm, like mine, can thrive here and have a great experience here. This school is not a good fit for kids with learning differences, very gifted children, active children or anyone who is just slightly unique.

Posted: November 11, 2019

The school attracts some great teachers from around the world. The quality overall is good, but there have been some gaps in the English faculty over the years.

Posted: November 11, 2019

The new leadership is a big improvement. They are open to feedback and more flexible than the prior administration.

Posted: November 11, 2019

This is the biggest weakness of the school. It does not allow for learning differences or behavioral issues. Once you hit a roadblock, your kid will get pushed out.

Posted: November 11, 2019

Posted: January 24, 2019

Fantastic experience for our three kids. IB curriculum, rigorous, and kids come home happy and fulfilled every day.

Posted: January 17, 2019

We've attended Magellan for more than 8 years now. It was a startup when we joined, and it is now a school with a very successful academic program. I'd point out that in 2018-19 we have a new head of school and head of primary, who are both amazing, and who are building on what the previous administrators started.

A Spanish immersion education isn't for everyone, and an international school education or IB education isn't for everyone. But for those who embrace it, as we have, it has been an amazing experience for us and for our children, who are now fluent and literate in Spanish and English, and fluent in Mandarin. They're above grade level in Math.

The school's curriculum is really challenging - it's hard. And that can cause friction - but it is good friction, the kind that causes students and children to really grow and blossom. What I like about it, is that Magellan does a good job of keeping all of these challenges in a fun context, so that math is connected to what we're learning in music, to what we're learning in history, to what we're learning in spanish and english classes. The threads connecting all of this make it more contextual and fun for the kids. If you can send your kids into the world with mastery of the three most commonly spoken languages, a love for learning, mastery and appreciation of math and music and design, and literature... it's a good thing.

I didn't see mention of something new at Magellan: the iLab for Design+Making - basically a modern day shop class to help kids design their own ideas and then make them real tangible things. The point is to get them thinking creatively and more entrepreneurially. It's exciting! And it fits so well with IB's core concepts of finding insights, and turning those insights into action.

Posted: June 11, 2018

And academically rigorous school with excellent faculty. This school has challenged my girls to excel in all académic areas while learning the material in a second and third language.

Posted: June 11, 2018

Posted: September 13, 2017

Leadership has the right intentions and tries to balance being innovative while providing stability, leveraging research, meeting parent pressure, and all while staying within budget. They could do better (though it is tough to say exactly how), but they do an admirable job balancing those "tough to balance" situations.

Posted: September 13, 2017

Magellan has been and is going through growing pains. Some parents are understandably uncomfortable with this (which I think is reflected in some reviews). Trying new approaches reaps rewards, but also has risks and certainly challenges. The schools makes honest efforts to adapt and address them within it's means.

You will often hear the key benefits being IB Curriculum and the Spanish immersion. That is true. However, there are others such as my daughter being very comfortable talking in front of groups since Kindergarten because presenting in front of the class happens regularly. Another benefit is the integration of the subjects in IB fashion. The projects they do incorporate what they learned along with art, Spanish, and presenting.

If you are interested, I recommend visiting the school and coordinating a visit to the classrooms. Pay close attention to the active participation of the students (communicating in Spanish) and note the projects/art on the walls.

Posted: March 13, 2017

My son's homework comes home on Wed and has to be turned in on Tuesday. Each week there is a grid of activities that allows students to chose how they want to relay their knowledge. The homework also has excellent use of technology like allowing for video submissions.

Posted: March 13, 2017

Magellan is a school with a strong community. The teachers and staff seem to love their jobs. Few behavior problems, allow for differentiated learning and group interaction. The homework is appropriate in quantity and allows for student choice. My son in his three years at MIS has had teachers from around the world which makes MIS special.

Posted: March 13, 2017

My son has been in school at Magellan for three years. We have not experienced bullying by it's true definition, but we have had a situation with another boy being hurtful to our son. I felt like the teachers handled it appropriately.

Posted: March 13, 2017

This is not a school for children with high behavior needs and the school only supports students with minimal learning disabilities.

Posted: March 13, 2017

The leadership is not warm and fuzzy, but they are very knowledgeable and effective professionals. I want my son's teachers to have warmth and the administration to be strong in decision making.

Posted: March 13, 2017

The teachers work very hard at instilling I students the IB Learner Profile attributes and the students respond to them. My son is regularly explaining to me the different attributes and how he demonstrated them.

Posted: March 3, 2017

The community here is very focused on helping others, world view and social emotional health. Love it.

Posted: March 3, 2017

They are AMAZING - highly qualified and incredibly caring

Posted: March 3, 2017

Weekly homework so children can take their time

Posted: March 3, 2017

Magellan has been a wonderful school for our family. My 2 sons are thriving there - and they have very different personalities. The community is wonderful - diverse and inspiring. The IB curriculum is first rate. The teachers here are incredible. Truly special. I work so my children can attend this school and it is worth every penny.

Posted: February 27, 2017

They have cliques and poor supervision, this caused many hurt feeling.

Posted: February 27, 2017

Lets say this school should be a no for you any child. My daughter tried it for one year and we had to pull her because they said she was falling behind which didn't make sense since her grade level skilled test was above average from grade level. Part of this I think happens because the teachers are not skilled or experienced, they have a few teachers from other countries that have mastered Spanish but lack US English communication proficiency.

I think that its not worth the risk if you want to ensure your child is being educated properly. When we changed schools to another IB program she had to catch up to the new schools coursework. However, now she is on the honor roll, taking high school credit - classes that Magellan doesn't offer.

Finally, the school is just a mess and constantly changing because they are still going through growing pains and this causes children to not have a stable and sure path to follow or expect. Example when they had to cancel opening the high school all the parents expecting their children to move to the 9th grade and so on have to now find new schools and start over pretty much. It jus reflects the poor planning and lack of growth.

Posted: February 26, 2017

Beware, they will suck you in with and it seems like everything you could possibly want in an education for your child. They don't have the resources to be able to accommodate or tolerate any type of learning disability, behavior problem, or identify where a student may be struggling . Additionally, your child will be very far behind when starting at a new school. This school is just awful and does not live up to expectations, it is unfortunate. Most of the parents only keep their kids at this school due to the Spanish immersion.

Posted: February 6, 2017

The Social Emotional Learning seemed pretty ineffective and not very interactive or proactive.

Posted: February 6, 2017

I found the school focused much more on curriculum development and completion than on actually working with real live children.

Posted: February 6, 2017

The school has a lot to learn about inclusion, learning differences, and playground safety. I think qualities like integrity, compassion and respect need to start a the parent community for it to be truly meaningful.

Posted: February 6, 2017

The teachers are extremely hard working, and under constant monitoring. Their stress was apparent.

Posted: February 6, 2017

This is a very ambitious school, both positively and negatively. The future vision is wonderful, but many of the current deficits easily get lost in the cracks. The curriculum is very left brain, and attracts very left brained parents, but the school has a lot to learn about inclusion, learning differences, and play. It is lovely that teachers are hired for many different countries for differences in accents and cultures, but many, if not most, of the teachers are on temporary visas, which creates some disjuncture. The teachers are extremely hardworking, but intimidated by the administration given their geographic vulnerability. The fund raising bordered on disrespectful, and for me resulted in a call at home from the Head of the School when she erroneously thought I had not contributed to the annual fund. I am puzzled there is not a single negative review, given how many families have chosen to leave.

Posted: October 11, 2016

Incredible offerings, instructors, staff and offerings. What a gem nationally! I wish it went through 12th grade:)

Posted: June 28, 2016

They get 2-3 assignments to do over a week and the homework is meaningful. My child comes home excited to do the assignments.

Posted: June 28, 2016

The teachers are amazing - very supportive and able to customize the lessons to my student's needs. The kids learn great problem solving skills, speak Spanish much better than when we tried teaching them through au pairs, and they just love to learn. I give Magellan full credit for all of that!

Posted: August 31, 2015

Having relocated from California, I really shopped around for immersion schools with a strong academic component. The Magellan International School blew all the other schools out of the water. The kids are inquisitive and learn critical thinking skills rather than to just follow along. It is a fairly new school so the outcomes and list of places where their graduates attend are not available but they are guided by success-proven International baccalaureate (IB) program and I predict that in a couple of years (as they get ready to graduate their first 8th grade class) we will hear about their graduates doing very well in high school and beyond. My child is in kindergarten and we are having such a wonderful experience being embraced by the community and my daughter is just thriving with the Magellan way of teaching. My only regret is that my older kids did not get to experience this school.

Posted: August 31, 2015

The homework is meaningful and unlike at many schools it is not just homework for the sake of homework, there is good balance.

Posted: August 31, 2015

There is a lot of transparency. The school was founded by a parent and there is now a 10-person board with outside educators involved as well.

Posted: June 17, 2014

We have attended Magellan for the last four years and love it. Our kids have loved everything about the school. Progressively over the years, the school is getting more and more organized. The fundraising can be a little obnoxious. They have tuition plus a recommended donation via the annual fund. They are now starting a capitol campaign. It does feel like they are charging you for every event. Despite this petty complaint, the teachers are out of this world. They differentiate to high achieving kids and keep everyone challenged. We love this school.

Posted: November 17, 2013

This is our son's second year at Magellan, and we're very happy so far. The IB curriculum provides a good foundation for lifelong learning. The school has attracted faculty that is both deeply experienced, and very passionate about their work. Spanish immersion is icing on the cake.

Posted: April 8, 2013

Phenomenal program where kids learn to think in a global context, learn how to be open minded and calculated risk takers, and have a keen sense of responsibility to not only themselves but to the community. I don't know of any other school that has the quality of teachers that MIS has - all with Bachelors degrees and most with at least a Masters, even at the PreK level! Finally, the warm and caring environment is for real, and probably a result of the quality selection of teachers who care deeply about the kids. A top notch world class school that benchmarks itself against the best international schools around the world - and we have it right here in Austin, Texas!

Posted: March 21, 2013

I have twins in one of the 1st grade classes. It is their first year at Magellan, after finishing at an excellent Montessori school. The first thing that attracted us was the fact that it is Spanish immersion, since I am Mexican (they also do Mandarin starting in 3rd grade), but what made us commit to it was the excellent academics, in particular the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Program (PYP), as well as the passion and experience of everyone from the founder and director down. As a mathematician, married to a scientist, I can say that they use the best way of teaching numeracy (Singapore math). My kids' math and language skills have developed at an astonishing rate. The community is very involved, and the families are invariably warm, friendly, supportive, diverse and very "Austin". Teachers come from Australia, Mexico, China, Colombia, El Salvador, Spain, and the US (I may be missing some countries!). The families there are even more diverse. Just in my kids' classroom they have Russia, Poland, India, Ecuador, England, Mexico and Canada represented. The school is also truly committed to economic diversity as well. Highly recommended!

#	Name	Type	City	State	Distance
1	Midtown Commons at Crestview Station	Apartment Complex	Austin	TX	2.1 mi
2	Anderson Mill	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Austin	TX	7.1 mi
3	Mill creek	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Salado	TX	42.8 mi
4	Evergreen Estates	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Harker Heights	TX	47.4 mi
5	Spanish Oaks	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Killeen	TX	47.7 mi
6	Skipcha Mountain Estates	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Harker Heights	TX	47.9 mi
7	White Rock Estates	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Killeen	TX	48.1 mi
8	Timber Ridge Estates	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Killeen	TX	48.1 mi
9	Knights Ridge	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Harker Heights	TX	48.3 mi
10	Savannah Heights	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Killeen	TX	48.8 mi
11	Glenwood	Neighborhood/Subdivision	Killeen	TX	49.1 mi

#	Name	City	State	Overall Rating	Distance
1	Main street	Salado	TX		42.1 mi
2	Harker Heights	Harker Heights	TX		49 mi

The Magellan International School

Austin, TX 78757

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The Magellan International School

Austin, TX 78757

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